Should Pinellas look for principals outside the district?

Concerned about a lack of depth, interim Pinellas superintendent John Stewart said twice in recent days that he thinks the district should look beyond its borders to find new principals.

"Realistically speaking, (the district is) going to have to start looking for leadership outside the district in order to build a good, deep leadership pool," he told The Gradebook during a brief interview Monday.

"We're getting more and more challenged to find the right leaders for the right post," he told the board during Tuesday's workshop.

Both times, Stewart said he planned to have more in-depth talks with the board before proceeding. His comments sparked a brief discussion at the workshop.

Some members said going outside to find talent might be necessary. But they also wanted to make sure the district was doing all it could to cultivate talent from within.

"If we temporarily have to do some of that (looking outside), so be it," member Linda Lerner said. "But I know we have very skilled people in our district. And I think we can improve the leadership development."

"I think we should find the best people no matter where they are, whether they're in our buildings, whether they're in the administration building, or whether they're in another state," said board chair Carol Cook. "But at the same time, we owe it to our people to do the leadership training. And I don't have the sense that we're doing that well right now."

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Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.